


And Give It Back to You

by ByAStream



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Blackmail, Cheating, F/M, Infidelity, Potentially Dubious Consent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:35:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,478
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26094220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ByAStream/pseuds/ByAStream
Summary: You left town years ago, after having your heart broken and your trust in your friends broken. But everything wasn’t as it seemed.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Dolores | Dot (Captain America movies), James "Bucky" Barnes/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 55





	And Give It Back to You

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on tumblr: jbbarnesnnoble.tumblr.com

Your shoulders tensed as you took the familiar exit and found yourself on the roads you had long since left behind. Four years was a long time. Silver Falls was a small town, named after the waterfall out on the edge of town, not far from the house you grew up in. It had been four years. Four years since the night you left and never looked back, no matter how much your mother wished you would come home. You moved, over a thousand miles away, to a city where you found yourself. 

When you left the Falls, you left everyone behind. You left your phone and got a new number, one your family had promised to keep to themselves. The people who had your number were the people you wanted to have it. The only reason you had come back was a job transfer, to the city just thirty minutes away. Your folks had moved down to Florida to retire, the house given to you. You felt someone watching you as you parked in the driveway. You turned and saw Wanda Maximoff. Once upon a time, the two of you had been close, practically sisters. You knew he’d know by the end of the day.

You sighed as you grabbed a box. There wasn’t much you brought with you. You didn’t need furniture or cookware. It didn’t take long to bring the boxes in and start emptying them. You looked around at the things your parents had left. Staring at you on the mantle, as if to taunt you, was a photo of you with Bucky Barnes on prom night. It seemed like a lifetime ago. You glared at it. Things had been simpler then. There was a time when everyone swore you two would get married. But that time had long since passed. 

_ May 2016 _

_ You stretched on your towel. A hot May day called for girl time at the Maximoffs. They had a pool. You, Wanda, Natasha, Sharon, and Pepper had agreed to meet up. You hadn’t told them about the fight you had with Bucky. It seemed like it was all you two ever did anymore. _

_ “So, a little birdie told me that someone was ring shopping,” Wanda teased. She and Sam had been together since your senior year and had been engaged for a few months. You snorted. _

_ “Right, and I’m next in line for the British throne,” you said, sarcasm dripping off each word. Your friends looked at one another. _

_ “C’mon you know Barnes is head over heels for you. Peggy said the same thing. He dragged Steve with him,” Sharon said. You sighed.  _

_ “Whoever he was buying a ring for it sure as hell wasn’t me,” you said bitterly. Natasha looked at you, her head slightly tilted as if she was figuring something out. Something didn’t sit right with how she was looking at you.  _

_ “He cheated? On you?” she asked incredulously. You sat up, shoulders slumped. This was exactly what you didn’t want to happen. _

_ “I found panties in the laundry. They sure as hell weren’t mine,” you said. Natasha’s expression flashed with an unreadable emotion. _

_ “Maybe he just has a panty kink he doesn’t want to admit to? Come on. This is James Buchanan Barnes we’re talking about. He’s been in love with you since we were little kids,” Pepper said.  _

_ “Pep...please,” you said, your voice breaking. You didn’t miss the look your friends shared. A pang of hurt hit you. It was in that moment that you knew. _

_ “You knew. You all knew and you didn’t say anything,” you said, standing up. You were angry. _

_ “It’s not...it’s not like that. Come on, you know how it is!” Wanda argued. You shook your head in disbelief. These were supposed to be your best friends. Sides had been chosen.  _

_ “No, Wanda. I don’t. Enlighten me,” you said. _

_ “We were going to tell you if he didn’t. It wasn’t our place to tell you! Steve and Sam already let into him about it! There’s no reason to throw away years of good over a mistake. You don’t know the full story,” Sharon said. You felt your blood run cold. It had been two months since Bucky showed up at the house you shared, bruised up after a fight with two of his best friends. Two months. They had known for at least two months.  _

_ “Really? So if Sam was cheating on Wanda or Clint on Tasha or Carol on you, and we knew, you all would rather us not tell you? He’s cheating on me. What more is there to that story?” you asked. She frowned.  _

_ “They aren’t Bucky,” Pepper said, speaking up after a moment of tense silence had filled the space.  _

_ “And what’s that supposed to mean, Pepper?” you asked. You thought out of everyone, she would be the first to tell you. You didn’t know much about her relationship with Tony. They had married the previous summer in a grandiose ceremony. Everyone in your group knew he cheated, though he seemed to calm down after getting engaged and married. You hated the man for that, for everything he put one of your best friend’s through. She sighed.  _

_ “Bucky has a lot on his plate. You know that,” she said. You glared at her. _

_ “And I don’t? Who’s side are you guys even on? How long have you known? You know what, I don’t want to know. I thought we were friends. Silly me for thinking I’d come before protecting James fucking Buchanan Barnes from the consequences of his actions,” you snapped.  _

_ You knew Bucky was poised to take over his father’s business, the most successful in the region after Stark Industries, which wasn’t saying much, all things considered. Stark was nearly untouchable as far as how much money was made. Success hadn’t come until you were seniors in high school. The pressure was on him to take over, to follow in his father’s footsteps. He’d had girls throwing themselves at him for all of high school and college. He always ignored it, or so you thought.  _

_ “Does it really change anything for you two? He comes home to you. He loves you. They might have him for a night, but you? You have him, always,” Pepper said. You snorted. _

_ “Is that what you tell yourself every time Tony fucks the new secretary?” you snapped. You felt regret as the words left your mouth. You saw her eyes begin to water. She ran into the house, the others following after her, except for Natasha. She looked at you, a frown on her face. _

_ “We were trying to protect you, you know. You didn’t have to find out. Bucky begged us not to tell you. Said he’d clean up his act, get it together. He had one more chance,” she said.  _

_ “And how many had he had before that? Tasha, how long?” you asked, your voice cracking. She sighed. _

_ “The boys found out in January. Gave him one more chance before knocking sense into him. Seems that didn’t work. We should have told you sooner. I’m sorry,” she said.  _

_ “Are you? Or are you sorry I found out?” you asked. Her silence gave you your answer. Your heart broke all over again. Your best friends were supposed to have your back. But in the end, they cared more about protecting him than they did you. You were expendable.  _

You snapped out of your thoughts as you stared at the photo. You threw it in an empty box, along with the other photos of you and Bucky that were laying around. A check of the town website told you trash pickup was the next morning.  _ Perfect _ , you thought. You set the box out by the curb, seeing a flashy car pull up outside the Maximoff home, or the Maximoff-Wilson home you supposed since she and Sam had married, but paid it no mind.

You knew Wanda owned the house now. The pair of you had reconnected and made up six months after you left, same as you and Natasha. But you didn’t go to either of their weddings. You weren’t ready and they promised to keep it quiet that they were in contact with you. You knew Sam and Clint both hated keeping something from Bucky. He was one of their closest friends. But they did it. Whether it was as penance for keeping the truth from you or because they didn’t want to lose you again, you didn’t care. Those bridges were carefully mended, the trust slowly rebuilt. 

You knew that flashy cars were no longer an exception in that group, but the norm. Bucky had turned his father’s business into a multi-million dollar company and that Sam and Steve both worked for him now. You knew a lot of things thanks to your renewed friendship with Wanda and Nat. You knew that Bucky seemed to have a new girl on his arm every week.That no one ever lasted long because no one in the group liked them. He’d had a fling after you, with the affair partner he’d had since January of that year. Dot McAllister. Dot had never liked you much. She had been spotted wearing a ring one day, and she and Bucky were done the next, from what your mother had told you. 

You were putting your books on a shelf in the living room when there was a knock at your door. You heard whoever it was try to turn the door knob. When you were kids, it wasn’t uncommon for the door to be unlocked when someone was home, for your friends to just barrel through. You glanced out the window, seeing Bucky standing there, hair pulled back in a bun and a suit that probably cost more than a month’s worth of rent for you. You debated opening the door when he glanced over at the window. Sighing, you moved to unlock and open the door.

“May I help you?” you asked, your tone cold. He gave you a small smile, your name a whisper on his lips.

“Can I come in?” he asked. 

“No,” you said. He moved forward before what you had said processed, freezing as he frowned, his brow furrowed.

“What?” he asked.

“I said no, Barnes. I don’t want to see you. I don’t want to talk to you,” you said. 

“But you’re home,” he said. You stared at him, a questioning look on your face. You didn’t know what he meant by that. You just pointed at the door. His shoulders sagged as he turned. He wasn’t going to pick this fight. Not today. He turned to look at you before you shut the door.

“Welcome home, doll,” he said. You resisted the urge to flip him off, closing the door and leaning against it. Not even an hour back in town and he was there. You should have known he would show up. You returned to your task, frowning as a piece of paper slipped out of a book you hadn’t read in ages that had fallen off the shelf. You had left your old worn copy with your parents.  _ The Outsiders  _ had been one of your favorites growing up. You unfolded the paper, shocked when you saw Bucky’s messy scrawl and the date on it. 

**_August 2019_ **

**_That poem you memorized from this book. About nature’s first green. I remember you memorizing that in the eighth grade when we read this. I didn’t understand then, not really. Not like I do now. Nothing gold can stay. And you were gold. I wonder, if we were always going to end up here. Heard your folks are considering retiring to Florida. I’m stopping by to see them, slip this in that old book of yours. Tasha mentioned you left it with your folks._ **

**_You said when you left that the day you returned would be the day you forgave me. I hope that day comes one day. I won’t hold you to it. I know you said it with the intention of never returning. But part of me hopes you will. Part of me hopes, selfishly, that you’ll come back, come home._ **

You had to stop reading. You were torn on anger and heartbreak. You hadn’t only lost Bucky when you left. You lost your friends, for a while at least. You had never completely recovered from them knowing about the cheating. Even if Natasha told you the first time it happened after you and Bucky agreed to try to make things work. You knew, in their own way, your friends had been trying to protect you from heartbreak. You had been in your early twenties, still barely adults then. Still feeling like you were children playing pretend. It didn’t excuse what they had done, but, in a way it explained it, no matter how much it hurt. It had taken a long time for you to reach out to some of them, fix the bridges that had gone ablaze. 

You were startled by another knock at the door. This time it was Wanda. You sighed as you opened the door. 

“I’m so sorry. I told him not to come over here,” she said, walking in. She had a frown on her face. You sighed and shook your head.

“You and I both know James Barnes will do as he pleases,” you said, shutting the door and gesturing to the living room. 

“So he’s still James, huh?” she asked, sitting down on the couch. You took the armchair, angling yourself toward her.

“I’m not sure I can ever forgive him, Wanda. It’s taken me this long to come home and that’s only because I got a job out here,” you told her. 

“Is it though?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” you shot back. 

“You swore up and down you’d never set foot in this town again. Yet here you are. You could’ve moved to Adamsville, or Pointchester. But you didn’t. You moved back to the Falls. Why?” she questioned. 

“Because my parents were going to sell the house and move to Florida? Because I’d rather deal with the gossip than move to  _ Adamsville _ ? Why does he have to have any bearing on me moving back? James Barnes is out of my life, for good. He doesn’t get to come back into my life. He’s the reason I missed your wedding. Missed Nat’s. And she and Clint still made me godmother of their daughter and I still refused to come back because I knew he’d be around. What does that tell you?” you replied. 

“That you’re still as stubborn as ever? You forgave me and Natasha...but what about everyone else?” she asked. 

“I forgave them a long time ago. At the end of the day, holding on to all that anger? It wasn’t doing me any good, Wanda,” you said, breaking eye contact with the other woman. You saw as she took in the living room. 

“You took the pictures down. You know, your parents always hoped...you and Bucky would work things out. I think we all hoped,” she said.

“I threw them out. They’re from a time gone by that is never coming back. I need to close that chapter for good, Wanda. And closing that chapter can’t happen if ghosts of my past are lurking,” you explained. She looked at you with alarm. 

“You threw them out?” she asked. You nodded, confused at her reaction. 

“Why is that a big deal? Trash belongs in the trash. I don’t know why my parents thought leaving those photos up was a good idea,” you told her. She nodded, as she took out her phone to send a text. 

“You’re right,” she said. The two of you changed the topic, falling back into an easy conversation. You had missed being able to sit and talk with one of your best friends. Once she left, you decided to shower and change. You were going to a local bar to get the bar pizza you had missed so much and maybe find someone new. It was in walking distance from your house, making the decision to walk an easy one. 

You walked in to find that the interior hadn’t changed in your years away. Fury’s was still a nice little bar that pulled all sorts of people. You sat down at the bar, and heard a gasp from behind the bar before Maria Hill called your name.

“I heard you were back in town. Have you seen Buck yet? I know he was excited about you coming home,” she said, sliding a drink in front of you. She remembered your order, even if it had been a few years.

“He showed up at the house. I uh, I’m not back for him. I got a job in the city. A house seemed better than paying rent,” you said. 

“Did you talk?” she asked.

“Hell no. I’m not an idiot. I’m not going back down that road. It ends with my heart getting broken. No thank you,” you said. She sighed.

“You’re going to break his heart, you know,” she said. You laughed.

“James Barnes has never loved anyone a day in his life. I wasted years of my life on someone who never loved me, because if he loved me, he never would have done what he did,” you told her, taking a sip of your drink. 

“So it’s James now? You know he thinks you’re back because of what you said, right?” she asked. You sighed.

“He said as much before I told him to leave. I was angry when I said that. How he can take me saying that to mean that circumstances bringing me back to the Falls means I forgive him is beyond me,” you told her. 

“It’s Barnes. As much as you may still hate him, you of all people know he’s a romantic at heart,” she said. You scoffed.

“Yeah, he had such a way of showing that with how he was wining and dining and don’t forget fucking, Dot McAllister behind my back,” you said. She frowned at that.

“I remember. You know, there was more to that. That boy loved you. Hell, I think he still loves you,” she said. 

“Right. Because when you love someone, you go behind their back to fuck someone who has always been jealous of your relationship,” you shot back. 

“I’m just telling you. You should do some digging of your own. Things might make more sense if you do,” she told you before going to check on another customer. You sat in silence, thinking about what she had said, when someone sat down beside you. 

_ July 2016 _

_ You walked into the house to hear a woman’s laugh. You froze. You knew that laugh. It was Dot. Bucky had sworn that it was done. It was over. But it wasn’t. _

_ “C’mon. You need to leave, she’ll be home soon,” you heard Bucky say.  _

_ “You need to end it soon, James. I won’t wait long, you know that,” Dot said. _

_ “I will. I will. I just have to figure things out,” he said. You slammed the door shut, and the conversation stopped. You heard Bucky curse. Dot sauntered out of your bedroom, a smirk on her face. _

_ “I’ll be seeing you soon,” she said to Bucky before walking out the door. You stared at him in disbelief.  _

_ “In  _ **_our bed_ ** _?” you asked, your voice shaking. _

_ “I need to talk to you. Please,” he said. You scoffed. _

_ “Right. Talk to me. You’re still cheating on me. You promised me. You  _ **_promised_ ** _. I can’t believe I thought you were going to be better, do better,” you said, your voice cracking. You brushed passed him and into your shared bedroom. You grabbed your suitcase and started packing. _

_ “Doll, what are you doing?” he asked, touching your arm.  _

_ “Don’t call me that and don’t fucking touch me. I’m done. We’re done. I don’t ever want to see you again. I don’t ever want to talk to you again. The day I step foot back into this town, that’ll be the day I forgive you for this. And that will never happen. I hope you enjoy your life with her, I truly do James,” you snarled. You were gone by sunset, driving for hours with no destination in mind. Your only thought was putting as much distance between you and Silver Falls as possible.  _

Present 

You were startled out of your thoughts by someone talking to you. You turned and saw Peter Quill. It had been a long time since you’d seen him. 

“Been a long time since you’ve been in town. Last time anyone saw you, you and Barnes broke up,” he said.

“Yeah, well, I got a job in the city and my parents were moving down to Florida,” you said. The two of you fell into easy conversation. You exchanged numbers with him as a group came in. You looked up to see Bucky with your old group of friends. He was the only one without a partner it seemed. 

“So, you and Barnes aren’t back together? Word around town is you two will be getting back together,” he said. You frowned.

“When hell freezes over maybe,” you said. Peter laughed. He tucked a stray piece of hair behind your ear. 

“Maybe I could take you out sometime then?” he asked. You smiled at him. 

“I’d like that. It’s been...a while since I’ve been on a date,” you said. 

“Since Barnes?” he asked. You shook your head. 

“I dated while I was away, nothing ever lasted though,” you explained. The two of you split a pizza and some fries. Fury’s still had the best fries in town. It was like stepping into a memory when you bit into one. 

You felt someone watching the two of you. You glanced to the side and saw Bucky watching, but he wasn’t the only one. The whole group seemed to be glancing over at the two of you and they weren’t the only ones.

“Hey, you want to get out of here? Not for that but uh,” you said, vaguely gesturing.

“People not being able to mind their own business?” he asked. You nodded. You both stood and he held his arm up for you after you settled your bill. You looped your arm through his as the two of you left the bar, all eyes on you. 

Across the bar, Bucky felt conflicted. He no longer had the right to be jealous. He knew that. But he had hoped you coming home meant you could finally talk about it.

“Peter Quill? Really? Isn’t he engaged to Gamora?” Steve said, shaking his head.

“I know we all want our favorite couple to get back together. But she’s still hurting,” Wanda said.

“You talked to her?” Bucky asked. Wanda nodded.

“She threw the photos out by the way. I think that’s what’s in the box in front of the house. I think it’s time for you to accept that she’s moving on. It’s been long past time for that,” Wanda said. 

“If she’d let me explain,” Bucky said before Sam cut him off.

“You should have told her from the start. You should have told us from the start. That woman was nothing but an opportunistic--,” Natasha covered Clint’s mouth with her hand before he could go on a rant. 

“You know why I couldn’t,” Bucky said.

“You could have. You were too much of a coward to,” Sharon said, sitting down beside Carol as she arrived at the bar. 

“And now she’s probably doing the horizontal tango with Peter Quill of all people,” Clint said before Bucky glared at him and Steve smacked him upside the head. 

Across town, you and Peter settled in your living room, neither knowing quite what to say. He had always been floating in and out of your friend group growing up. He glanced around the living room and frowned.

“You know, your parents left a bunch of photos of you and Barnes. Had them developed before they went to Florida. Gamora was telling me about it,” he said. You smiled slightly at the mention of Gamora. She had always been sweet to you. 

“How is she?” you asked, passing over the fact that some of those photos had intentionally been left by your parents. You weren’t sure what they had been playing at. They knew you wanted nothing to do with Bucky. They hadn’t liked anyone you’d dated after him. You couldn’t understand why they had warmed back up to him in recent months. 

“Good, she’s, she’s doing real good. She’s out of town right now. We got engaged a few months ago actually,” he said. You smiled.

“I’m glad some are getting their happy endings,” you said, taking a sip of your drink.

“You deserve yours too. Did you hear about what happened to Dot?” he asked. You frowned.

“I don’t make it a point to keep up with my ex-boyfriend’s mistress,” you said. Peter shook his head.

“There was a lot more going on than it seemed. Dot was arrested earlier this year. The McAllister family has been involved in dodgy things for ages, but they made a mistake when they were trying to blackmail Bucky,” he said. 

“Blackmail Bucky?” you asked. 

“No one’s told you? Gamora said you talk to Nat and Wanda often. They get drinks every now and then. Dot was blackmailing him into being with her. She always wanted to be with him. She...she had the ammo to make good on some threats, threats involving you. Some photos and videos that had been on Bucky’s phone. We still don’t know how she got them. But she threatened to leak them unless Bucky did as she told him,” Peter said. 

“And that included sleeping with her?” you asked in disbelief. 

“You should talk to him. Really talk to him. None of us had the whole picture, not until Dot’s arrest. I’m surprised the DA hasn’t contacted you yet but I know they’re being methodical in the case,” he said. Peter worked for the FBI, that much you knew. 

“Did my parents know?” you asked. 

“I think your parents wanted to believe Bucky would never intentionally hurt you. But, you should talk to him. Because you deserve your happy ending too. Even if it ends up not being with him. Now, I gotta get going. I have the early shift tomorrow,” he said. You both stood up. You hugged him. He seemed surprised at that.

“What’s that for?” he asked, awkwardly patting your back.

“You may just be the first person in this town to tell it to me straight, so...thanks. And tell Gamora I said hello, would you? I really want to grab lunch with her sometime,” you said. 

After he left, you settled into your evening routine, lost in your thoughts. You knew what you needed to do. 

_ January 2016 _

_ Bucky stared at the woman in front of him. Dot had shown up at the office and had managed to weasel her way into his office. She held her phone up. On it were photos and videos, mostly of you. Photos and videos that would ruin your career before it even really started if they got out. _

_ “Where did you get those?” he asked. The redhead smirked. _

_ “I have my ways. That’s not important. What is important? You’re going to do what I tell you. When I tell you. Or your little girlfriend? Her life as she knows it is over. Would certainly be a shame if someone were to post these all over social media and tag her employer in them, wouldn’t it?” Dot asked in a saccharine tone. Bucky glared at her. For once he was glad his father had a policy of having meetings recorded and that they lived in a single party state.  _

_ “What do you want?” he asked. _

_ “You,” she said. Bucky laughed. _

_ “You think I’d ever want you? I’m going to marry her you know,” he said. Dot shook her head. _

_ “What you want no longer matters, Barnes. Go ahead, marry her. But you’re stuck with me. I’m the one who’s name you’ll be screaming. And trust me, once you’ve had a taste of me, you’re never going to want that bitch again,” Dot said. Bucky shook his head in disgust. _

_ “Let’s get one thing straight, McAllister, I will never want you. I will never want to be with you. And you are nothing compared to her. As far as I’m concerned you’re a conniving woman who can’t accept that someone doesn’t want her,” Bucky snapped. Dot just smirked at him, _

_ “I’m the woman who can destroy your precious girlfriend’s life. So think carefully about what you do, Barnes. I won’t wait long,” she said before leaving the office. Bucky waited until she was gone to place a phone call. Peter Quill was a valuable contact to have.  _

It took three weeks for you to seek out Bucky. You went through Wanda, arranging to meet at her house, during a gathering with your friends. Neutral ground and an easy retreat. These were people who had seen both of you at your worst. You avoided him until after eating, the two of you moving into Sam’s home office to talk. 

“I heard about Dot,” you said. 

“It was a long time coming. Doll...what I did. No amount of apologies can make up for that, for convincing our friends not to tell you. That’s on me. I should’ve stood up for you, for me, for us. I was scared, but that’s not an excuse,” he said. You crossed your arms, leaning against the wall. 

“I just don’t understand why you didn’t tell me about the videos, the photos,” you said. He frowned.

“Who told you?” he asked.

“Peter,” you said.

“She came to me earlier that year. Said she had gotten the photos and videos. Showed me. From what Quill’s told me, her brother worked for Stark, in the division that worked on phone security. The McAllister family had been planning for a long time to get what they wanted. Dot was obsessed with me. Her father wanted her to marry me, get access to what I was building. Rick was already high up in Stark Industries. 

When she came to me, it didn’t start with the cheating. There was a threat. And then she started demanding things. I could have stopped it, I should have stopped it. But then she would mention you, about how your career would be ruined if those photos and videos were leaked. I don’t expect you to forgive me. I never enjoyed it. She wasn’t you. I had to think of you to get through it,” he said.

“And the ring?” you asked. Hurt crossed his face, before his expression turned dark.

“She found it in my desk when she was snooping and decided it belonged to her. It was the ring I’d designed for you. The ring I planned to propose with. After that stunt, I told her she’d gotten what she’d wanted. You were out of the picture. But she wasn’t going to get me. We made a deal and it was in writing. One of the most damning pieces of evidence against her and her family,” he said. 

“Why’d it take so long for her to get arrested?” you asked. 

“Because they needed to build a case against the whole family. Between my business and Stark Industries, they were digging themselves into a deeper hole. The investigation had been going on for a long time,” he said. You sighed.

“I forgave you a long time ago. I know you Buck. And that wasn’t you. My Bucky wouldn’t cheat. My Bucky wouldn’t lie. But forgiveness doesn’t mean we can go back to how we were,” you said, your voice cracking. He nodded, biting his lip. You loved and hated when he did that. 

“I know,” he said. 

“But friends, we can work on being friends,” you said. He nodded again, and was taken off guard when you pulled him into a hug. The two of you made your way to the loveseat Sam had in his office, facing one another. Neither of you said anything for a few minutes, taking in what had happened.

“If I could take it all back, I would. If I could take back the hurt, the pain, the lies, I would. If I could fix it all, put it back together again,” he said. You reached out to touch his cheek, brushing away a stray tear.

“I know. I know,” you said. 

Maybe this wasn’t your happy ending, but you’d be happy to have your friends back, all of them. To rebuild what had been broken. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Reader knew about Peter and Gamora. They're somewhat open. Reader also knew Peter was looking to get a rise out of Bucky.


End file.
